Document Type
Honors Thesis
Abstract
This research explores the evolution of the neo-XX/XY sex chromosome system of Amblyophallus exaltatus, a treehopper insect in the family Membracidae. Neo-XX/XY sex chromosome systems can evolve from an XX/X0 sex chromosome system via fusion events between the X chromosome and an autosome. Although cytological work has indicated the presence of a neo-XX/XY system within A.exaltatus, the chromosomal identity of the fused autosome and the molecular drivers behind this chromosomal fusion remain poorly understood. By performing a coverage analysis with whole genome sequence data, the parts of the A.exaltatus genome that fused with the X chromosome will be better understood on a molecular level. Male and female A.exaltatus DNA sequencing reads were mapped onto the A.exaltatus reference genome as well as onto the reference genomes of other treehopper species: Umbonia crassicornis and Tylopelta gibbera. After a whole genome coverage analysis, it was indicated that the fusion event that occurred in A.exaltatus involved the ancestral treehopper X chromosome and the homolog of U.crassicornis autosome 3. The results showed that the fusion event occurring in A.exaltatus is different from the fusion events that occurred in another neo-XX/XY treehopper, Calloconophora caliginosa.
Disciplines
Bioinformatics | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | Evolution | Genomics
Publication Date
5-2025
Language
ENGLISH
Faculty Mentor of Honors Project
DANIELA PALMER DROGUETT
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Kumah, Mary, "UNCOVERING THE EVOLUTIONARY ORIGINS OF NEO-SEX CHROMOSOMES IN THE INSECT FAMILY MEMBRACIDAE" (2025). 2025 Spring Honors Capstone Projects. 14.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/honors_spring2025/14